Jan Lisewski ... polish kitborder ... he was the first one to cross Baltic Sea with kite and kitboard with no boat assistance .... now he is missing after trying to cross red sea ....

Article is in polish .... so please use google for translation .....


http://fakty.interia.pl/swiat/news/polski-kitesurfer-zaginal...


Short article about Baltic Sea crossing ....

http://www.seabreeze.com.au/News/Kitesurfing/The-Baltic-sea-...

Oh dear

No chase boat? Just asking for trouble. That's a mighty big piece of water to be treading water in while you wait for someone to find you.

Scary to think he did that first crossing. One would think that the first time would have been enough. Why wouldn't one wear a GPS transponder at least. Can't see the outcome of this being good.

open ocean needs back up. chosen poorly this time. hopefully all will work out. most guys i know like that just can come thru it all. NO beacon ???

last sos signal 6h ago ......

http://masterkiteboarding.com/index/index2.php

Quote:

Originally posted by shaggs2riches Scary to think he did that first crossing. One would think that the first time would have been enough. Why wouldn't one wear a GPS transponder at least. Can't see the outcome of this being good.

It sounds like he did:
"Friend "riders" Martha Lesiewska stressed that Lisewski he was the organizer of this trial and did not involve anyone to help. He swam without a safety net, as in the case of crossing the Baltic Sea. His only protection is an international system of marine rescue SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking). This device sends a signal to rescue units, indicating the position with an accuracy of four meters. "

But things can go wrong and Mother Nature isn't always forgiving.

ATB,
Sam

rescue include ...... 16 rescue boats , 1 heli, 1 plane plus many private boats .......

last sos 1h ago ....... Cant wait to hear the story ...... hope he is all ok ,,,,......

Looks like he was using a "SPOT" system, which is not the same thing as a 406 EPIRB. 406 EPIRB's are part of an international SAR network that just about every nation in the world participates in and the units include, in addition to the satellite beacon, a 121.5 MHz homing beacon that any coast guard vessel/helo can home in on. Without that VHF homing beacon it will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

12 min ago SOS again ...... How they can't find him ???? with updated GPS position every few hours ????

Poor visibility, rough seas, gps error margin, any number of reasons. Hoping they find him and pull him in soon!

Praying for a good rescue.

Sadly rescue is still unsuccessful .... last sos 3h ago .....

"12 min ago SOS again ...... How they can't find him ???? with updated GPS position every few hours ????"

As I tried to explain in my post, without a "homing beacon" like what is found in 406 EPIRB's to guide the rescue helo / boat the "SPOT" system is almost completely worthless. A GPS position that is 30 or 60 minutes old is worthless when you're trying to locate a swimmer. If he were on a big yacht, his chances of being found would be much better. But a swimmer in the ocean with any size of sea would be virtually invisible to a helo or even a rescue boat. This fellow needs a whole lot of luck at this point. I wish him well. Whatever the outcome, I hope people take note of how inadequate this "SPOT" system is as a SAR tool. People need to understand that without a proper EPIRB their chances of being found are much less likely. Ironically, for about the same price he could have gotten a proper EPIRB like this one:

http://www.acrelectronics.com/products/catalog/personal-loca...

Of course, had this fellow had a chase boat, none of this would have ever happened. I think some people tend to forget that the ocean, as beautiful as it may be, can be a very dangerous place to be. Especially for those who are unprepared.

He is alive and well ......


http://www.facebook.com/events/165821933536215/

That's excellent news. After that long out there, and in that big open water can't imagine what must have been going through his mind. He's one lucky guy that's for sure.

This is good news Conrad. I only hope this is a lesson for him. He can stil do the crossings unasisted and have a safety boat a mile or so from him.

Wow, so glad this had a good ending!

Always a good thing to hear of a good outcome to a bad situation, and ya gotta respect his confidence in his abilities, but with Mother Nature ya never know what will happen. Glad to hear he is safe.

I hope they make him pay for the S&R. Just to teach him a lesson, NOT to be a dumba$$ again.He put everyone else at risk because he did not want a chase boat ....Really??? what a jerk! What if one of those choppers went down, or a rescue swimmer drowned? All so he can set a record? He's a selfish twit in my book. I have no doubt he will do it again,unless the punishment is severe enough. No EPIRB?STOOPID!

I'm with WELDNGOD, people who knowingly put themselves in life threatening situations only to later have to be rescued at tax payer's expense, should have to pay for their stupidity. By international agreement, countries who participate in SAR operations do not seek re-imbursement for their rescue efforts, so this guy will likely not have to pay a penny for being saved. But countries like New Zealand are beginning to take measures to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the first place. In New Zealand (and perhaps other places as well) you have to have your boat inspected (and I suspect they'd consider a kitesurfer a sailor) to ensure that it has all the required safety equipment before it is allowed to set sail. In the US we don't currently have any such laws and I have no idea what the situation around the Red Sea is. But if people like this fellow continue to take unnecessary chances like this sooner or later taxpayers are going to complain and then new regulations will go into place.

As we know people do all types of crazy things just to get more adrenaline and not always are fully prepare ..... many sailors that try to cross oceans are missing, many climbers gone with avalanche and most challenge their fears alone or with minimum support ..... I am not thinking that he is crazy to try do same think ,,,,, Sadly he did not get right unit for the job ..... I am sure he is not done .... just like base jumper after big accident he is thinking about going out again knowing what is his punishment for any error .....

http://www.tabuk-news.com/site/articles.php?artid=10086

Quote:

Originally posted by WELDNGOD I hope they make him pay for the S&R. Just to teach him a lesson, NOT to be a dumba$$ again.He put everyone else at risk because he did not want a chase boat ....Really??? what a jerk! What if one of those choppers went down, or a rescue swimmer drowned? All so he can set a record? He's a selfish twit in my book. I have no doubt he will do it again,unless the punishment is severe enough. No EPIRB?STOOPID!

Hey Donnie, don't hold back... Tell us how you really feel...

there was NO excuse for NOT having a chase boat.:dunno:
He had no back up plan... His back up plan was to have OTHERS risk their life, to save his.(the proof is the POS equipment he took) That's just WRONG! If he couldn't afford a chase boat,then he shouldn't have done it. I'm gald he's not hurt,but I'm even more glad no one else got hurt lookin for his dumb butt. I hope they punched him all the way back to shore!

Quote:

there was NO excuse for NOT having a chase boat. He had no back up plan... His back up plan was to have OTHERS risk their life, to save his.(the proof is the POS equipment he took) That's just WRONG! If he couldn't afford a chase boat,then he shouldn't have done it.

Exactly right. What's worse is that this is yet another widely publicized kitesurfing accident that will further convince the public that kitesurfing is a dangerous sport and that kitesurfers are reckless.

Glad he's ok.


And we wonder why kiting has a bad name....moron.

Mmm, I used to believe that those responsible for getting the SAR called out should pay for it - we have a lot of dumbass tourist trampers/hikers in NZ too - but seriously, they'd probably waste all that money just training anyway and the experience is good for them... no?

He sounded pretty well prepared for a solo crossing (the goal, after all, was to do it solo) from what I skim-read - rafts and supplies and what-not... I don't see how it's any worse than people rowing across the Atlantic or trekking across Antarctica, and yet they get lauded as heros :dunno:

Life comes with risks...

This guy expected the wind to stay favourable for the whole 200km. What was he thinking, he must know how unreliable the wind can be, even with the most ideal reports and forecasts. He was totally relying on his VHF and SARSAT to rescue him in short order too. He only had enough energy drink to keep himself "hydrated" for the trip (2 liters from the sounds of it).

His raft turned out to be his kite. Those never spring a leak.

Completing an open water crossing solo with a kite is all about luck (lucky the wind holds for the whole trip). He got lucky on his last crossing and was unlucky with this one and was lucky again that they found him.

I am sure if he would finish his journey people would say ....... impressive ......
Since he make mistake and run of luck people say he is ..... moron ..... ???

Everyone have right to his own opinion and that is awesome ..... I write my point of view and will not try convince anyone to see it same way ..... that would be endless discussion .....

Welcome more opinions on the subject ...... that is somehow educating ......

His backup plans were to float on his kite and have a beacon?
jeepers, some people just ask for trouble.

http://www.polskatimes.pl/artykul/522203,kitesurfer-z-gdansk...

he fended off 11 shark attacks, was vigilent and 'battled' all through the night? Is google tranlating this right?? With stories like this he might have saw Atlantis while he was out there too.